Dec inflation meets forecasts at 1.5%

Headline inflation accelerated to 1.5 percent in December from 1.1 percent in November in what was the biggest rise in 2015, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed on Tuesday.

The December increase in consumer prices ran below the 2.7 percent inflation recorded in December last year.

The latest inflation rate, however, stayed within the central bank’s estimate for December this year of between 1.1 percent and 1.9 percent, the same estimates also provided by private analysts polled by the Manila Times. The December rate also matched the 1.5 percent projection by the Department of Finance.

Against the full-year average target by the BSP of between 2 percent and 4 percent, the actual 2015 average fell short at 1.4 percent. MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO